Collegiate Times

rock the vote center 9.16

Rock the Vote's tour bus stopped at Virginia Tech yesterday as it marked the beginning of its month-long awareness tour, drawing in many student passers-by while stationed just outside of Newman Library. Rock the Vote used Tech's campus as one of its first stopping points as a means of speaking out against recent voter registration issues.

"The controversy over student voting rights started at Tech," said Amanda Eckerson, Virginia's coordinator for Rock the Vote. "And it's really important to Rock the Vote this election that students understand their rights, and their rights actually state that they can choose to vote at their home residence or on campus."

Confusion involving voting rights at Tech arose just over two weeks ago when Montgomery County Registrar Randall Wertz issued a memo questioning whether student's voter registration location would affect other legal information, such as their car registrations and driver's license addresses.

"If students don't understand that they can vote right where they live on campus, then there are extra hurdles they'll have to go through in order to actually voice their feelings in this election," Eckerson said.

Rock the Vote members were pleased with yesterday's turnout, with some saying they felt the set-up was perfect for attracting students.

"Our point is to raise awareness for the general public; that's why we're in a central space, that's why we're on a microphone, that's why we've got music," Eckerson said. "It's just to let students start thinking about the fact that they have the right to vote and should be voting in this election."

Sophomore political science major Heather Young said she was pleasantly surprised to see the Rock the Vote present on campus and had come by the event for this same reason.

"We need to get students more involved in politics," Young said. "This is a big election coming up so they need to get more students because it's our age group who's not voting the most in our elections."

Both the College Republicans and the students supporting Sen. Barack Obama (D - Ill.) affiliated with Young Democrats at Tech co-sponsored yesterday's event.

"You have two guys who are very different in their politics, very different in their vision for the future of this country, and it couldn't be more important for college students to turn out, get informed, get educated, and do their homework," said senior and chairman of the College Republicans Carlin Crowder. "There's all this stuff about voter registration; I'm saying do your homework, talk to mom and dad, then get registered, and cast your vote."

Rock the Vote itself is non-partisan; however, students associated with both candidates were present to inform on their sides.

"Even though there's a lot of partisan emphasis here, most of this is just about trying to encourage people here to take responsibility," said Dan Geroe, senior political science major and president of young democrats. He described student-voting rates in the past as "abysmal" and, along with Crowder, expressed predictions of a huge improvement in the youth vote for this coming election.

"I think it's going to be very good," Crowder said. "And I'm pleased to see that the women on campus are turning out in droves to our meetings." Crowder attributed this to the presence of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on the Republican presidential ticket.

The Rock the Vote Tour will last until Oct. 6 -- the deadline for voter registration in Virginia.

"Virginia's one of our main focuses because the last three elections in Virginia were decided by under 2 percent, so if you register you will definitely be heard," Eckerson said.